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Menagi
The menagi '''are an elven race that hail from the Havessé Islands and Sortír. Their ancestral homeland is Aman-Haver. They were originally the offspring of a union between ael'ùvah and ael'nonùvah but soon became their own race due to Boriémeg's involvement in their race. In many ways, they are more similar to the Mannish races than elven races. Despite this, they have the signature pointed elven ears. Menagi is the erius translation of the name ''mænagi, which is what the menagi call themselves. It is derived from ael'ùvahian marenag, ''meaning ''shame. Some ael'ùvah, especially those in Gil-Navarié, also call them marenagathù, great shame. ''To the hardeteels, they are known as ''meánaghi, ''to the nargds they are known as ''ménáhiá, méanáhir ''or ''máenáhir. In Mira, they are known as miégnag. All of these terms are derived from the erius word. The ael'nonùvah know them as chidhrén, ''meaning ''children. ''Due to the promiscious nature of the menagi, many languages have words derived from ''menagi ''to relate to matters of a sexual nature. In the Sepilonæa language, the word for nymphomania is ''menagikoæsimaniæ. This is repeated across many languages. Biology The menagi are the result of extensive breeding between the ael'ùvah and the ael'nonùvah, however, most of their biological differences are a result of divine intervention, caused by Boriémeg, who nurtured the early menagi. The menagi are regarded by many to be an attractive race, even to the ael'ùvah, though most would not admit it. They are highly sexual and reach sexual maturity at the same rate as humans, unlike elves, who can take over one hundred years to reach sexual maturity. In addition to this, their sexual organs are more sensitive than that of other races. A peculiar thing about the menagi is their tattoos. All menagi are born with tattoos. There are many theories as to why the menagi have these tattoos, however, it is not biological, rather, it is spiritual as Boriémeg is said to have given the menagi their tattoos after she delivered them to Aman-Haver. Menagi within the same family will have similar tattoos. The tattoos can be any colour, from black to red. They can also take various patterns. The menagi are of similar height to the ael'ùvah. Their hair can range from blond to black. Their eyes can be red, blue, green, black, grey, brown or purple. The menagi have an immunity to certain diseases. History Early History The first menagi were originally found in Fomír and the southern coast of Gil-Navarié. There were significant menagi populations in Gíl and the surrounding villages and towns. As Gíl had a large ael'nonùvah population, the menagi lived in relative peace. The first menagi were found a few hundred years after the Thiëtists had evolved into the ael'nonùvah and the laws permitting the ael'nonùvah from coming to Gil-Navarié were relaxed. When the ruling classes of the ael'ùvah learned of the menagi, they were horrified. They felt that the menagi were unpure. The menagi were treated as second-class citizens. They were expected to pay more taxes and were excluded from the grain dole. This led to widespread hunger amongst the menagi, forcing many into the professions that they soon became renowned for: thievery and prostitution. Exile and Exodus to Aman-Haver The Paramount King at the time, Aradthir the Proud, took action to please his nobles. After much planning, hundreds of menagi were forcibly removed from their homes and cast out of the cities. They were stopped from having jobs and could only find employment unscrupulously. They were actively insulted and attacked in the street by the ael'ùvah. Nevertheless, this was not enough. Several decades after these laws were imposed, the Paramount King and his nobles took it a step further. The menagi were packed in boats and sent into the sea, with no destination in mind. Any menagi that stayed in Gil-Navarié were branded outlaws and allowed to be slain on sight. The conditions on the boats were cramped and disease was rampant. It was much like the conditions that the Thiëtists had had to endure when they were sent to Fomír, however, many historians say that the situation on the menagi boats were even worse. It is said that over half of the menagi population died on the boats. The probability of dying on the boats was better than staying on the island, however. Within a few decades, only a handful of menagi remained in Gil-Navarié and their physical state was no better. They were forced to hide in the forests and jungles of Gil-Navarié or in caves near Gil-Gotham. Some were even found hiding in attics and in cellars of houses owned by the ael'nonùvah. The menagi prayed to the gods to deliver them to safety. The god that answered their prayers was Boriémeg. She soon became the head of the menagi pantheon. Boriémeg summoned wind to guide the menagi to an island that she had set out for them, with Lokve's permission. On arriving at the island, called Aman-Haver, Our Home, the menagi erected a shrine to Boriémeg. The goddess is said to have then turned the menagi's scars into tattoos. The Destruction of Aman-Haver and Fleeing to Sortír Piracy and Trade For thousands of years, the menagi dwelt on Amar-Haver. They traded with the nargds of Dír and with the ael'ùvah of Palmu. Despite their good relations with Palmu, the menagi despised the ael'ùvah of Gil-Navarié. This hate led to the rulers of the menagi giving rewards to pirates for every Gil-Navarién ship they attacked and destroyed. Under the reign of Aradthirathù, the ael'ùvah of Gil-Navarié made a great fleet to combat the pirate threat. Each trading ship was accompanied by at least one war galley, to deter any pirates and to engage enemy fleets. Soon, pirates were a rare thing in the Elven Isles and piracy was restricted to the area between Amar-Haver and Palmu. The Invasion of Amar-Haver and the Last Resort After securing his own seas, Aradthirathù gathered his fleets and sailed towards Amar-Haver The main menagi fleet met them head on. The menagi ships were more numerous and faster than the ael'ùvahian ships but they were weaker too. Many pirate lords had sworn an oath to the Queen of the Menagi and sent ships to assist. By the time the pirates reached the ael'ùvahian fleet, the menagi's naval force had been crushed, despite a long battle. The pirates were routed and forced to retreat. The land invasion was more to the menagi's advantage. The ael'ùvah struggled to fight the menagi, and nargdoc mercenaries, in the dense jungles of Aman-Haver. The menagi, as well as the nargds to some extent, were excellent in guerilla warfare and slew many enemy soldiers in ambushes and small skirmishes. The ael'ùvah struggled to make a foothold on the island. However, the ael'ùvah had employed mages in their army and bombarded Aman-Haver for many weeks from the safety of the sea, withdrawing their soldiers from the island. The horrific attack caused Aman-Haver to begin to sink. The ael'ùvah retreated, thinking the menagi dead. Once again, Boriémeg delivered the menagi to safety. She summoned boats to the menagi and guided them through the dangerous seas. She kept the menagi hidden in mist until they arrived in Sortír. The menagi made their homes in Sortír, but always longed to return to their now-destroyed homeland. Arrival in Sortír A New Home The menagi arrived in Sortír having lost their homes and their livelyhood. Their queen had been killed and disease was rampant. Despite this, the menagi began to build new homes and restart their ailing civilisation. Boriémeg elected a new queen for the menagi and she guided the menagi while they tried to rebuild their lives. Her descendants became known as the Warrior-Queens of the Menagi. They built a large city and pursued a policy of isolation, so that they would remain hidden to the world and to the ael'ùvah especially. Menagi Invasion of the Havessé Islands The menagi, being an extremely fertile race, were soon faced with a rapidly growing population. Over-population was a great problem in the cities. As much of Sortír was forest and jungle, with few places in which to grow food, shortages of food were common. The menagi needed more land and the Havessé Islands appeared to be a very attractive target to the menagi. Under the rule of Siëdolicé, the ael'ùvah had expanded to the Havessé Islands. Many ael'ùvah moved there and built many great cities, however, by the time the menagi were prepared to attack, the bulk of the ael'ùvahian army was putting down an uprising in Palmu and the Havessé Islands were largely undefended and a land of crime and banditry. Under the command of Warrior-Queen Faenahhiá, the menagi invaded Lír-Haver, the name that the menagi would later give it, and swept southwards, pushing the ael'ùvah out of the Havessé Islands. The capital was later moved to Lír. Some time after this, there was a rebellion in the Havessé Islands and Faenahhiá was forced out of the Havessé Islands and fled to Mithraleen, where she later died. Wars with the ael'ùvah After the Gil-Navarién empire had been destroyed, the country was in a weak state. The city-states warred with each other constantly. The menagi took this chance to avenge their ancestors and invaded Gil-Navarié many times. Despite a foreign invasion, the city-states still did not ally. A few alliances and pacts were made but they were not permanent and did not unify the whole of Gil-Navarié. In the initial invasions, the menagi managed to conquer large portions of the eastern coast of Gil-Navarié. The city-state of Zorés was forced under menagi control. The menagi were, however, unable to expand further than this. They were able to hold off against their ael'ùvahian enemies but could not advance further. Later invasions lacked much success. The final invasion of Gil-Navarié, led by Warrior-Queen Kaia, was successful and resulted in the southern and eastern coasts of Gil-Navarié coming under menagi control. The menagi held these lands for hundreds of years. Many menagi came from the Havessé Islands to settle in Gil-Navarié, especially in cities such as Zorés. Sometime before the Reunification of Gil-Navarié, the menagi had lost all of their land in the island. The Isle of Orcle was taken from the ael'ùvah by the menagi. The capturing of the island allowed the menagi to expand their power in Afrik. The menagi spent many years consolidating their power in Afrik. They interacted with the barabs of Afrik and entered alliances with many of the city-states. These alliances would last until the city-states were eventually taken over by foreign powers. Interaction with the Mithraleenean Empire When Gil-Navarié was invaded by the Mithraleenean Empire, the menagi actively assisted them. They invaded the weakened state and took much of the lands that were owned during the time of Kaia. They captured Zorés and Sadré, weakening the ael'ùvah even further. When Gil-Navarié was captured by the Mithraleenean Empire, the empire allowed the menagi to keep their holdings in the land. In later centuries, the menagi holdings on the island would be absorbed by the Mithraleenean Empire, who had mithraleenised the menagi of Gil-Navarié. The Havessé Islands and Sortír later became client kingdoms of the empire. The Mithraleenean Empire became the prime destination of menagi goods. The strict drug laws of the empire were relaxed to allow menagi drugs to be sold within the empire. War with the Fledging Hegemony Assisting the Mithraleenean Empire When Gil-Navarié suffered widespread revolts, the menagi were quick to come to the aid of the Mithraleenean Empire. Aside from providing supplies to the legions defending the island, the menagi of the Havessé Islands sent soldiers to help the legions combat the rebellion and also dispatched vessels to police the waters around the island. The rebellion later became known as the Fledging Hegemony and, despite the help of the menagi, defeated the Mithraleenean Empire. They also destroyed many of the menagi sloops patrolling the waters around Sangéth and other port cities such as Gil-Gotham. The menagi were forced to recall their soldiers and naval compliments in Gil-Navarié. The last act the menagi would do to help the empire in Gil-Navarié was to provide ships to help in the evacuation of the legions from Gil-Navarié. This enabled the remnants of the legion and many of the imperial nobility in Gil-Navarié to be safely taken to the Havessé Islands and then back to imperial lands. Hegemonic Invasion of the Havessé Islands The Battle of Valicé Strait A few years after the imperial withdrawl from Gil-Navarié, the Fledging Hegemony invaded the Havessé Islands. The first battle of the conflict was the Battle of Valicé Strait. The navies of both the menagi and the ael'ùvah of the Fledging Hegemony were pitted against each other in a naval battle for the first time in thousands of years. The menagi had been preparing a fleet since the Fledging Hegemony had captured Gil-Navarié and had an impressive arsenal composed of sloops, imperial triremes, biremes and liburnians. The Fledging Hegemony, on the other hand, boasted several galleons and galleys as well as repurposed triremes and biremes. The two fleets met at the Valicé Strait, the strait seperating Gil-Navarié from the Havessé Islands. The hegemony had a slight advantage over the menagi, however, the menagi sailors had trained for decades whereas many of the hegemony's sailors had only been given basic training and were ill-experienced. The battle resulted in huge losses for each side, however, the hegemony was victorious. The hegemony, although weakened, had naval dominace over the menagi of the Havessé Islands and were able to invade successfully. It was notable as being the first battle that the Racéssiá, the flagship of the Fledging Hegemony, fought in. The Fall of the Outer Islands Soon after the menagi defeat at the strait, the first hegemonic troops arrived on Camas. There was a brief skirmish on the beach, however, the small menagi force was defeated by the hegemonic forces. There were several more battles. The largest battle outside the Siege of Camas was the Battle of Camas Plains. In this battle, the menagi managed to hold off the invaders for days. Nevertheless, they were defeated with the arrival of the Gothamic Knights. All menagi forces withdrew to the city of Camas. The city was soon besieged by a large force. The supplies to the city were cut off and siege weapons were erected around the city. The walls of the city were subjected to constant bombardment by the hegemony's siege engines. Many of those inside the city died due to the siege. The walls were finally destroyed and the hegemony was able to flood inside. The menagi were brave in their defence but the battle inside the city was brief and it fell to the invaders. Less than a week after the fall of Camas, more troops from the hegemony arrived. The menagi were ready for the next attack, however, the blockade around the island prevented supplies being sent to Caras, which the menagi suspected (rightly) would be the next place to fall under attack. The Fledging Hegemony's troops landed on the shores of the island and they advanced towards Fosíl. They found Fosíl abandoned. The menagi had withdrawn to the city of Caras in the hope that the combined armies of the two cities would be sufficient to combat the threat. Caras was later besieged. The siege lasted for a month. The battle inside the city raged for about a week as the citizens joined in to defend their city. The hegemony suffered huge losses but the menagi were eventually defeated. When Caras fell, the Outer Islands were taken by the Fledging Hegemony. Any menagi forces still able to fight retreated to Lír-Haver, expecting the final leg of the invasion to come soon. The Invasion of Lír-Haver The menagi had judged correctly that the hegemony would invade Lír-Haver. The menagi had learned from their mistakes at recent battles and switched to guerilla warfare to defeat the hegemony. The hegemony's forces were generally heavily-armoured and were quite slow. They were forced to engage the menagi in forests, where their mobility was further affected. The menagi were successful in their guerilla campaigns, scoring a great many wins against the hegemony's forces. The hegemony's forces were split into two and attacked. Many groups of soldiers fell to menagi ambushes. After a year, the menagi had managed to hold onto all cities in Lír-Haver, except Cam-Síl, which was conquered by the Fledging Hegemony's forces. The city was soon recaptured by the menagi. The menagi also managed to free many of their ports from the various blockades and resumed preying on hegemonic ships. The hegemony was forced to resort to different tactics to defeat the menagi. The menagi were suddenly faced with a new threat, which came in the form of the hegemony's battlemages. The menagi were forced out of their forests by these soldiers. The menagi were defeated in open-combat by the vastly superior soldiers of the hegemony. The menagi had to retreat to their cities, which was where they were wanted by the hegemony. Cam-Síl was abandoned by the menagi. The soldiers retreated to Síl, Vír or Lír while the citizens fled to Sortír, which had become the new homeland of the menagi in exile. Síl was besieged by the hegemony, however, the siege was the longest of the war. Despite the battlemages attacking them, the menagi inside the city held out for months and months. Vír and Lír were besieged afterwards and fell. Síl was soon the only city left under menagi control on the island. The menagi inside the city had erected a magical shield to protect the city. The shield was so strong that the battlemages took months to defeat it. They spent a lot of their energy just attempting to weaken the shield. The shield lasted for an entire year as it was constantly repaired by the menagi mages within the city. When the shield fell, the walls were soon destroyed by the mages. The fighting within the city, however, raged for a week. The few citizens left inside the city joined in to help the soldiers repel the hegemony's forces. The menagi, however, were soon defeated and the Havessé Islands were made a province of the Fledging Hegemony. The Morassi æn Hædon The vast majority menagi that did not remain in the Havessé Islands fled to Sortír. Sortír had always served as the stronghold of the menagi and was a place where the menagi could retreat to when threatened. During this time, when the Havessé Islands were occupied by the enemy, it was no exception. Many menagi flocked here. The leaders that had escaped, the Morassi, were quick to set up an emergency government known as the Morassi æn Hædon, the Morassi-in-Exile. Although wary to retain independence from both the Fledging Hegemony and the Mithraleenean Empire, the Morassi æn Hædon allied itself with the Mithraleenean Empire and sent spies into the Havessé Islands in an attempt to inflitrate the infrastructure of the hegemony as well as to provide the Mithraleenean Empire with intelligence. The new government also carried out missions such as raids on cargo boats carrying grain, rescuing political prisoners and freeing menagi citizens who had been enslaved by hegemonic nobles. The Eastern Hegemony Personality The menagi are generally a sexually active and sexually deviant race. They are also boisterous and active. They are hostile towards the ael'ùvah, primarily the ones from Gil-Navarié. They are normally indiscriminant with who they sleep with, with gender and race of no concern to most individuals. Despite not showing it in the ways other races would, the majority of the menagi are religious. Whenever they partake in an activity such as sex, drinking alcohol or taking drugs, they are showing devotion to Boriémeg, their Goddess of Pleasure, Lust, Love and Impulse. Views on the ael'ùvah In general, the menagi have a cold hatred of the ael'ùvah for the crimes commited against their ancestors. The hate has been added to by the ael'ùvah's views on the menagi as being impure and unworthy. Despite happening tens of thousands of years ago, many menagi dislike the ael'ùvah because the early menagi were excluded from governmental assistance such as the grain dole. Views on other races The menagi are generally quite amiable towards the other races. They get on especially well with the erius, who are most accepting of them. They view most races as being attractive but rarely care about attractiveness; as long as they are able to display their devotion to Boriémeg in some way, they are happy. The menagi view the ael'nonùvah as being the mothers of the menagi race. They respect the ael'nonùvah and both races commonly get on well with each other. Culture and Religion Much like the ugluh, the menagi are divided into houses. In their history, they were ruled by kings and queens, but the monarchy was turned into a republic with the Morassi Council being the supreme command of the menagi of the Havessé Islands. The Morassi are the elected heads of the houses and come together to decide what is best for the Havessé Islands. Despite not being part of the Mithraleenean Empire, they have one representative on the Imperial Senate. The menagi's primary religion is Boidhéahhá. In it, they worship Boriémeg as the head god. In their religion, Lokve, known as Laecvé, is said to be the creator goddess of the universe, but did so only with Boriémeg's consent. To worship Boriémeg, the menagi give into their natural desires and freely partake in activities such as sex and drug-taking. Certain sects of the religion take this to the extreme. These sects encourage polygamy and polyamory. They also continue the ancient menagi practice of enslaving males. The menagi use drugs as a vessel to become closer to Boriémeg. When taking the drugs, the menagi believe that the high experienced is a spiritual thing and is the act of coming closer to Boriémeg. They believe that her influence is greater when the menagi are under the influence of drugs. Many menagi believe that only drugs that are grown and farmed in the Havessé Islands or Sortír are pure enough to be used as a means of reaching Boriémeg, as they are the only ones that are gifted with her blessing. Some even believe that to use them as a means of recreation is a terrible sin. Menagi culture is one of the few cultures that believe in female equality. In fact, men are more likely to be discriminated against than women in their society. In the early history of the menagi, the men worked as slaves and labourers while the women could relax and practice their religion, in the form of fornication. The men were only allowed to mate with the intention of breeding. Gradually, the menagi culture became more liberal and men were afforded more rights. Despite this, the vast majority of menagi rulers continued to be female. Very few rulers were male and those that were were commonly the subject of rebellion or disgrace. In menagi culture, tattoos are important within families. Tattoos reflect the closeness and the bond that menagi share with their families. Tattoos become more complex as a family produces more and more generations. The oldest families have members with multicoloured tattoos with many branches that loop and curl. The menagi speak a collection of languages known as Menagi. These languages are a sub-group of the ''valicé ''languages. They are very similar to ael'ùvahian and the langiägi iyévë aelutur'ùvah. The largest language within this group is Sortíæn, spoken in the island of Sortír. The other languages are Sílæn, Líræn, Camæn and Víræn. There is also Iscáeræn, which is spoken by a small population of menagi who reside in the smaller islands around Lír-Haver. All of these languages are similar to each other. Unlike in many other cultures, pirates are not frowned upon in menagi society. The menagi view piracy in much the same way as they view any other fleet. To them, pirates are simply soldiers that do not attack out of loyalty to a country but out of pleasure and greed. Some hard-line menagi see piracy as another way of showing devotion to Boriémeg. In their early history, piracy was encouraged, as long as it was against ael'ùvahian ships. When the menagi were surrounded by the ael'ùvahian navy, the pirates agreed to attack the enemy, however, they came too late and were defeated. Piracy against the ael'ùvah is still viewed by many as being a good thing and a valid occupation. Notable People *Faena Ae'Síl '' *Warrior-Queen Faenahhiá' *Warrior-Queen Kaia '' Trivia *The menagi are a result of breeding between the ael'ùvah and the ael'nonùvah. *The menagi's tattoos are the result of their Boriémeg worship. Category:Races Category:Validor Category:Elves